Press quotes

  • BAE-EADS merger would advance Europe's military goals
    Reuters, 16 September 2012

    "In the broadest terms, this merger does enact what many European governments... have been saying for a long time - that in order for the European defense industry to remain competitive in the long term it needs to consolidate," said Clara Marina O'Donnell of the CER.

  • Germany's savers feel resentment and guilt over pressure to end euro crisis
    The Guardian, 16 September 2012

    German taxpayers stump up a "solidarity surcharge" of 5.5% of income tax to fund the hefty costs of unification in an arrangement due to last until 2019. "East Germany might well need another trillion," said Katinka Barysch, a German economist at the CER.

  • Illegal immigration emerges as new crisis for Greece - and EU
    The Wall Street Journal, 15 September 2012

    Last year, some 351,000 people were in the EU illegally by overstaying their visas... "The attention needs to be shifted to that too," said Hugo Brady of the CER. "Greece isn't the cause of illegal immigration, it's a serious patch of vulnerability."

  • German court rejects calls to block eurozone rescue fund
    USA Today, 13 September 2012

    Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER said the ruling's most interesting aspects were the conditions attached. "It's unlikely that the German government would vote to increase the amount of money that it can commit to the fund," he said.

  • Defence sector plans for hard times ahead
    Financial Times, 13 September 2012

    "Faced with the lack of demand in Europe, the name of the game for many European defence companies has been to try and get into other markets like the US," says Clara Marina O’Donnell of the CER.

  • London sees commercial sense of alliance
    Financial Times, 12 September 2012

    "One of the interesting questions is what this means for the much-vaunted Franco-British defence relationship," said Clara Marina O’Donnell of the Centre for European Reform.

  • Spanish leader yet to agree on bailout conditions
    Marketplace, 11 September 2012

    Refusing to go along with the austerity measures could jeapordize other EU governments support for the bailout program, according to Simon Tilford of the CER. If that happened, "the ECB will not be allowed to buy the debt," Tilford said.

  • El 'eje del Norte' afloja la presión
    El Pais, 09 September 2012

    "No hay duda de que los años de crisis [economica] han tenido un impacto primera vez, Alemania está en una posición abiertamente dominante", comenta Simon Tilford, economista del Centre for European Reform.

  • European bank move could help economy
    Voice of America, 07 September 2012

    "This is an argument about money, said Simon Tilford of the CER. "Who pays for misallocated capital, profligate borrowers or irresponsible lenders? The only way of addressing this kind of problem is by both sides taking a hit. And so far the full burden of adjustment is being imposed on the debtors."

  • In launching cases, Commission shows it plays by rules
    The Wall Street Journal, 06 September 2012

     "It's commendable that the commission is prepared to stand up for little Eastern European countries at the risk of hurting relations with Russia," said Charles Grant director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank.